Monday, December 1, 2008

Stay Angry, Mumbai

It could have been you. It could have been me. We were fortunate. We are alive. Buthundreds of other victims – our people - who died last week, weren’t as lucky. They were at the wrong place at the wrong time…. and paid with their lives. Mumbai received a body blow from which it may take years and years to recover. Just as 9\11 changed the lives of millions of New Yorkers, 26\11 will remain etched on our consciousness – a tragic reminder of Mumbai’s exposed flanks and extreme vulnerability. The most incredible aspect of this ghastly tragedy is the startling statistic – in a teeming city of 16 million, all the people I have spoken to over the past five days, have a direct connection to the carnage, one way or the other. They know someone who was hit – either killed , trapped, or evacuated. South Mumbai resembled a ghastly graveyard over the black weekend, with people rushing from one funeral to the next, numb with sorrow but raging within. Impotent anger, at such a time, is worthless. Anger must be mobilized and redirected towards serving a bigger objective. As of now, what we are experiencing is righteous indignation – ‘How dare they do this to us?” The point is – ‘they’ HAVE done it to ‘us’. Now what?? Do we beat our breasts, moan and groan, weep and wail ? Or do we think ahead… plan…. consolidate and ACT? For the first time since the multiple batterings Mumbai has been at the receiving end of, we are seeing a citizenry that has awakened to the fact that as long as there are terror camps flourishing in Pakistan, as long as Karachi’s proximity and easy access to our shores is being taken advantage of by terrorist organizations, Mumbai will remain a soft target. The devastation we witnessed over 56 gruelling hours does not represent the end game. It may well be a mere pause before the terrorists regroup and conduct another lethal strike. Should we be caught napping again, we will only have ourselves to blame.Citizens the world over, get together to protect themselves when government machinery lets them down. It’s time to face the horrible truth that we don’t have any other choice but to depend on our own resources to fight back. This fight has to be a strategized one, relying more on intelligent planning and less on physical interventions. It must start in neighbourhoods, building societies, schools and colleges. It must focus on educating people on how best to handle emergencies of this kind. I strongly recommend a simple yet effective method that does not require rocket science to implement - sirens at key locations around the city that warn citizens of an impending disaster, natural or man made. We are finally seeking help from the Israelis and Americans who are experts in this area. If America could immediately put the Homeland Securities project into place in the wake of 9\11, what stops us from adapting a similar model ourselves? Our abysmal failure to secure Mumbai does not need any further amplification. Questions that may remain unanswered revolve around the puzzling time lapses that cost precious lives. Why was the army not called in much earlier, why the delay in getting the Marcos and the NSG into action? Forget intelligence failure that could not intercept an attack of such a magnitude – for hours and hours after the first burst of gunfire, our cops and firemen appeared totally confused and ill prepared – as if they were waiting for a go ahead from some ‘higher authority’ (who? ). Bureaucratic tangles may have paralysed some of our dynamic and brilliant police officers, unable to move without those dratted ‘clearances’ , possibly from a sleepy Delhi. Why not more autonomy for our top cops?Viewers watched in horror, as the poor constables attempted to do their best, armed with lathis!! The terrorists on the other hand were armed to the teeth with the world’s most advanced weapons. How can a megapolis of this size, with its unique topography, hope to cope with a terror operation of this scale and sophistication? Despite the odds being stacked so heavily against our men, they bravely battled on and decimated our enemies to cries of , ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai.’ Mumbai itself shone through the tragedy, as average Mumbaikars rallied around brilliantly, expressing solidarity, compassion and a splendid display of maturity via emails, smes, phone calls and visits to affected families. Mumbai stood together as one entity. This in itself is nothing short of a feat…..a miracle. The ordeal may be over…. but not the battle. Faces of all those who died, must be remembered. No forgetting, no forgiving this time. The time for that is over. Stay together. Stay angry. May the force be with us as we start to heal. Once again.

Please join me in saluting the principled widow of our great hero, Hemant Karkare, who snubbed Narendra Modi by refusing to accept his money. And please also join me in acknowledging the extraordinary sense of duty displayed by those magnificent Sardars in the foyers of the two hotels, who could so easily have run away at the sound of gunfire within, but chose to stay and risk their lives while saving other people’s.

92 comments:

As heads roll one after the other, the media gets is given fodder from the politicians to divert the focus from the job at hand to linen washing.

Please stop fighting amongst our selves... Wake up India...

No matter who takes up what posts, the need of the hour is very clear, justice must be brought to the ones who lost lives. Nothing less than going after the planners of this attack shall be accepted. The executors have been killed and one captured alive to tell the tale…. Now gather evidence, find out the planners behind it, and show it to the world. Now whether the world agrees or not once the planners are identified, we must go after the people behind this and take them out.

Pakistan is the only free nation, that allows breeding of terror on its land.

We constantly keep trying to defend our country but if some one keeps trying to enter, sneak in constantly with malicious intent some time or the other they will succeed. They succeeded by killing a couple of coast guards.

While we should increase the vigilance at borders and sea way entrances, it is pertinent that the terrorists were made to run for their lives rather than sit peacefully in Pakistan and prepare again for some loopholes.

When America entered Afghanistan, to take out the Al-Qaeda, the whole world was against it including me. But what that ensured was the Al-Qaeda was running for its own survival rather than think of attacking America.

The time has come for India to go in and attack the terror infrastructures, outfits in Pakitan & Pakistan Occupied Kashmir….

How long will we keep bearing the brunt ??? How long will innocent people lose lives ??? Wake up ministers and be counted, don’t allow India & Indian lives to be taken for granted…

Impotent anger is worthless!You've addressed the main issue!Channel this anger in URGING steps to be taken by our 'respectable' (used oh so very loosely) political parties. Consistent pestering of these parties, with demands of reform, is now critically required of each and every Indian citizen. You can't have a burst of anger achieve anything, it needs to be consistent from now on to keep our country leaders in check and doing their job efficiently.

Let’s do it....1. Let’s be honest to our job2. Let’s refuse any bribe on offer3. Let’s say NO to corruption4. Let’s demand justice5. Let’s unite and force government to take right decision (get rid of terrorist camp hence their and their supporter’s moral)

and last …. Let’s form a party and STAND UP in next election!(or stay next to your PC and keeping writing in someone else blog for lifelong, in that case I really feel sorry for you and for your life as human!)

These attacks have brought about a sense of rebellion and unification in the country.

After each and every such terrorist activity, the Government has concluded that "It's about time..." But this time, it IS time. The Government that chooses to remain politically correct shall not survive. We've always been proud of the fact that we live in the largest democracy. Let's use our democratic rights to keep our Politicians and Political Parties in check.

Ma'am,It appears this particular terrorist attack has hit you at a personal level.For, there were people affected as badly in the other terror attacks too.But, no tears were shed then. The duplicity of our chatterrati can be seen from the token lip service accorded to the nameless victims at the CST station, and by the fact that none of our English channels even bothered to get their personal accounts as much as we did for the tourists and the others who were primarily, the guests of the two hotels.

Of course, we are always politically correct by making the right noises about those hit at CST but our actions betrayed us.Nobody says that our prejudices and class biases are going to vanish because of a terror attack but we could do with a lot less hypocrisy.

Further,the tendency to simplify the reasons for the government's tardy response to the attacks and then, to go on to suggest unrealistic methods of ensuring accountability from our public functionaries is symptomatic of our ethos for rhetoric in times of crises.

In fact, it smacks of an attempt to be shocking and thereby, garnering a sense of awe from the viewing public and eager media personnel ready to lap up a juicy sound bite.

I can appreciate your anguish but please, let us come up with practical measures to ensure our government functionaries are responsive and clued into the dire emergencies facing us.

Start with the infrastructure at the street level, the city level, emergency response systems, compulsory military training for anyone 18 yrs or above. Compulsory identification mechanisms at various levels of the society.

No more 18th century equipment for police force, no more red-tape in national security. No more of the dilly dallying on important national decisions.

Now, is the time to go for a massive complete overhaul. No, small steps. No more incremental patience for incompetent persons holding any high office.

Let's get professionals, people of Integrity, let's pay them well.

No more wink and a nod for incompetence. No more cronyism and nepotism in any walk of life.

No more of individuals of low integrity and low personal responsibility !

My father is a former Army officer, and for the greater part of my life, I have had to endure cruel comments from people about how corrupt the Army is, what an 'exalted' life we lead in cantonments, how the daughters end up being beauty queens, and how useless the Army has always been (the 1962 debacle, the Ketchup Colonel, etc., etc.). While I have always ended up being defensive and I confess, touchy, about these issues, I am so proud today that our defence forces have proven everyone wrong. I am also proud of my own countrymen, the so-called 'aam janta' who fought back and used their presence of mind to avert further disaster. It is so sad that we need situations like these to re-hero our true heroes and overcome the North-South, communal divides. I am so glad to see that you have minced no words in expressing your outrage over the attacks or in appreciating the efforts that have gone in to save our citizens.

I loved your frank opinions on TV, and especially on CNN-IBN with Ms.Jayanthi Natarajan, and I am delighted that you stood your ground and responded rationally to what seemed like a hysterical outburst from her. It is very very difficult getting a point across to politicians and other so-called public servants, and you have done it ably and with dignity.

Please continue to be a strident voice and you will hear other voices with yours.

Post after post after post after post…..but NO ACTION so far!!!!!!!!!!

I even wonder if you are the same person who was asking people to take action in interview on cnn-ibn.

I thought you are a reformer but you let me down you are just an ordinary writer who’s obsessed (hobby) with writing and looking more user coming to their blog hence publicity.

From the first post you wrote after Mumbai Attacks until now what you have done is just wrote an awful lengthy essays nothing else, even if the people who have lost their lives fighting terrorists read those by any chance they will definitely commit suicide(if they weren’t dead).

Do you really think that those Sardars had chosen to lost their lives in fighting terrorists so that people like you can writes lengthy essay feeling sorry for them and conveying condolences?

Ms Shobhaa, you are famous, influential, charming with magnetic personality and you can do it!So what are you waiting for??You are already 60, are you gonna wait another 30 yrs before you come out on the street?

It’s not time to write anymore post but it’s time to get-out on street and force government to take action!

P.S. : I really feel sorry for you and bunch of ppl who are just nodding to your posts instead of taking actions. No wonder you ppl deserve to be treated like a chicken!

PPS : If you angry please take-out your anger onto forcing the Government to take some action not replying to me with bitter posts!!!

I agree with you...absolutely without a doubt... But there's a thought that has been troubling my mind..a cynical one... Why are we reacting so harshly today? Is it because some elite places were attacked? Or is it that we've just had too much? I hope from the bottom of my heart that it is the later...Don't get me wrong here..today every person you know has been affected by these ghastly acts of violence.. But for me this has been true every time our city was attacked... even the media coverage of just the Taj/ Oberoi points to that fact.... I hardly saw any news regarding the CST attacks or say the Wadi Bunder blast...Not that i dont support this reaction...i am more than eager to help in whatever way i can...but i just hope that everyone who is in this fight today has their hearts in the right place.. That from now even a single life(whoever that may be) will be significant to all of us...!!

mrs de,i am a 14 yaer old teenager from bangalore. i watched the debate in which you so passionately expressed your feelings on the recent attacks, which was aired on CNN IBN. i was deeply impressed by your ability to call an asshole an asshole. you have aquired a new young fan. deeps.

Many may not like President Bush, but we should give credit for him for:

- No attacks since 9/11 in US- Faced the terrorists in Afghan & Iraq (the reason could be different)

I supported Obama for:

- He understands the poverty in Africa- Planing to aggressively get into Afghan and- Planing to engage in Pak, if required

India has been facing Afghan Dacoits since more than 1000 years. The label could be different today but the WINE is same. It is the culture in Afghan that we need to change.

When an ex-President like Kalam made a statement atleast 70% should be politics of growth, it showed howmuch he was frustrated with this generation of politicians; his power was limited to go around the country and make kids to take OATH that they will be better citizens;

Ratan Tata confessed to Fareed Zakharia in CNN/GPS that he had warnings and all the security that they had wouldnt have stopped these terrorists. YES.. there is only so much a private entity can do... The government (central & state) having all the resources should have stepped-up. They let down their citizens. They FAILED !!! The response, you get elected !!!

This plot is against the whole country. Now we have terrorist atacks not only in Bombay but in other parts of it by internal terrorists particularly the eastern and southern part. The part where I live such attacks are a part of the life. We see how innocent poor villagers plights of not having even drinking water facilities and occsional police raids are converted into becoming extremists. This never comes into TV news Channels or blog writtings.This action is timed when a new govt is elected in our neighbouring country and Govt in our country is going to be elected. The aim is to disrupt peace attempts and declare war against each other, the military powers in the neigbouring country can dominate with more demands for arms and weapons and aids from the first world countries so as to eat the sweet cake against the flow of blood of the innocents.

I read your article in BT today and I completely agree with you.It is time to ACT.But this cannot be achieved by shedding tears in front of the tv screens or by attending numerous candlelight vigils or worst by blaming the politicians who are less agile than the most lethergic swine.Those psychopathic fanaticists will not be afraid of these.We have to gather ourselves and start towards an initiative.The Times of India has worked successful initiatives like Lead India so why not start an initiative which is aimed at uprooting terrorism.You are their columnist why don't you suggest something like this. I am sure it is what millions want right now.I want it. A voice to fight back and slap terrorism right on its face.The motto of TOI is 'Let the truth prevail'.Terrorism is the truth and its hightime we remain indifferent towards it. I AM ANGRY and I don't wish to let it out till I am sure that such tragedy is NEVER repeated. As for the 'spirit of Mumbai'I am dead sure that I will spank anyone who utters it.

yes shobha de, madam. your write-up is good and thought provoking. you are not only adept at vivacious descriptions of love making but at reacting to the present harsh realities. what a change! all the way it is a good metaporphasis. i look forward to such eye opening articles from your daring pen madam. From : Dr Gnanadev

would also like to salute the father of the NSG comando Unnikrishnan who turned away the chief minister from his doorstep when the later came with an entourage of security to express his grief.

we pay taxes, we are harassed and searched at public places like theives while the politicians enjoy the security we deserve.

we elect them (God knows why!) to do the work of the nation. to govern. to serve. since when have these SERVANTS become so disgustingly pompous and arrogant that they order us around and ask for peaceful candlelight protesters to be checked!!! are they kidding us!

WE ALL NEED TO WRITE TO AND PHONE EVERYDAY SINGLE DAY... RELENTLESSLY... UNTIL WE GET ANSWERS ABOUT WHAT IS BEING DONE. NOT ONE EMAIL, NOT TWO, BUT MANY EXPRESSING HOW YOU FEEL AND DEMANDING ANSWERS FOR WHAT HAPPENED AND WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE. Email and call until you get an acknowledgement of your message. You need to be on the record. Everyone of us needs to be on the record. You, me, your Maid/Driver/Paanwala and Banker... all of us need to be in record. Messages on blogs are not the record nessecarily.

Blogs are all very well for catharsis and brainstorning, but talk to the people who are in charge right now. Tell them how you feel. And yes, now is the right time. Get your answers from them.

Simi and Ness Wadia or Kunal Filmaker (I have no idea what the hell they were doing on Barkhas Panel... having no record of social or political or security commentary before) are NOT OUR VOICES. Our voices are our own and they need to be heard.

mrs De, your expression of views on ndtv was succinct and prudent.the way you placed your takes reflected your confidence in yourself. we need persons like you, today. there is gonna be a change this time and no one can create an impediment in our way. what you said in a nutshell is simply apt....enough is enough! i heard a rally is scheduled for dec 3 -6p.m. at gateway ,is it right?

Yet another time "foregin" trained religious terrioists have unleashed a dance of death on the streets of the worlds most populous "democracy" and yet again this billion strong sea of humanity is left orphaned by the very state to which pledges their protection. Honorable home minister has finally quit and more heads would roll, this is the most serious punishment that can be handed down for putting innocent lives at risk. And life would go on.

Police officers, tourists and civilians have lost lives and thousands would live on with emotional scars for many years to come. But we all have lives to lead, stomachs to feed, family to look after, homes to safe guard, children to care for, parents to be responsible for and spend time trying to avoid any interaction with the monstrous and insensitive governmental machinery.

Our battle against terror is a daily affair for a life time.

Remember the times when the teacher would not permit the pupils to answer a call of nature during a class hour, the child battles terror, while the rest of the class learns lessons insensitivity often called resilience.

Students and children punished with physical assault in the name of discipline learn to accept and use violence as a means to ends while imbibing the tricks of battling terror by displaying forced meekness often called respect.

Unchecked powers of assessment wrested with supervisors and superiors coupled with lack of accountability teaches university students, government employees and private participants a way around this terror by means often called corruption.

Antiquated legislation, unscrutinized results, over burdened judiciary and resource starved law enforcement agencies prepare citizens to avoid any interaction with these institutions and if in need of well deserved justice, to resort to "out of court settlements" sometimes called goondaism.

We have no time to care or afford the luxury of thought. The battle is a daily struggle if not a war for dignified existence while catering to the demands of polity to project an image to modernization.

How would we make leaders, how would be have objectivity of thought, how can we think through objectives, how can be identify the issues, how would be learn to ask questions, how would be learn to answer logically, how would find solutions, how will we live to trust?

IT HAS TO BE FROM US! IN US! WITH US!

The greatest causality of the war by terror is innocence and trust. Our children have to live in a country where honesty, integrity, accountability, compassion, empathy, equal opportunity, and duty of care are the guiding principles of not only governance but daily life. There are examples around us of societies that have developed on the very principles cited above, of states that have risen above narrow walls of selfishness and vote bank politics to ensure social security and protection of their citizens we need to learn, we have to learn.

We have to think. AND ACT!

I pray for the victims of this mind less violence and sincerely hope no human being, no family and no nation would ever have to go through such a sad situation.

So how do you think the Taj and Oberoi Corporations could thank every NSG and Marcos commando, every army, fire, police personnel who risked thier life to save hotel guests, employees and thier professional and commercial reputation.

How about an all expenses paid vacation at a hotel resort for every man jack of them... not just the Sahabs and Top Brass? Most of them couldnt afford to breathe the rarified air there otherwise. Plaques and the kind are welcome but this would be something heartfelt for everyone who worked to save your collective corporate arses!

The blog had a brilliant picture of a group of commandoes resting on some chairs in the hotel during/after the seige... with a caption that says that this might be the only time some of them could afford to sit in those chairs!

Ironic, isnt it?

So come on Tata and Oberoi enterprises, the insurance companies are going to be paying out big bucks soon. Heck, even if they dont, you can afford to thank the people who saved your professional reputation and branding.

Right on the nail as always!If we cannot look to our own administration and government for security let's outsource it to the private sector. At the very least let there be greater public private partnerships in homeland security and defense. For how much longer can we remain a soft state and to what avail?We should get the Israelis and the Egyptians on board if we have to: they could give us useful pointers on counter terrorism measures and on ways to tighten the noose around militant outfits in the country and beyond.I am all for the Israelisation of our police force and special security apparatus. God knows we deserve far better than what we are getting!

Did you see the cocky manner in which Vilasrao addressed the journalists' questions reg. his terror-tour?

The public and media, in their opinion, are just a bunch of non-savvy cattle, meant to be patronized and treated with contempt they deserve. And we are collectively responsible for enforcing this attitude with our silence and other ineffectual means of protest. Let's have a few more candlelight vigils, those work wonders!

I shudder to think how dismal our situation would have been today had it not been for modern technology and the electronic media.

Oh I hate preachers like you.. wake up India???.. stay angry???.. puhlease.. there is nothing the common man in India can do about this... because GUESS WHAT - THERE ARE 1 BILLION OF THEM... and most are too busy trying to figure out where they will get their next meal - rather than think of terrorism.

Listen missy... the more I read your nonsense - the more you get on my nerves... just a few months ago you wrote a book - SUPERSTAR INDIA - talking about how great India is because Indians are now buying Fendi bags and driving Ferraris... LOL... your book was a joke and now you look like a FOOL after what happened in Bombay.. so you start preaching the foolish indian public... while i'm sure you ran away to somewhere in Europe.. or are planning to run away soon.

There is nothing Indians can do about this - the govt. has to take steps and they will.. unless they want a total collapse of this country.. by shouting and screaming nothing will happen. Did you ever once point out the security concerns in India before this attack happened????? Why were you SLEEPING till now??? No one cared about the security situation till yet - only when a few 100 people die in an attack do Indians like you wake up and start preaching.. please come up with some "Intelligent" ideas about how the govt. should combat terrorism in India. And I dont believe this is Pakistan's fault - its ONLY India's fault for being such a weak target.. the govt. here has been sleeping since India became an Independant country.. and they will take their own sweet time to wake up. Any country with a weak internal security will be attacked by others - it is India's responsibility to strengthen its borders and invest in high intelligence security.

As for you.. at 60.. please grow up already and start writing something intelligent for a change.

This is not America with 300 million people where everyone is properly fed and taken care of - that people can unite to take charge against the govt.... this is a 3rd world country with hundreds of millions of starving people for whom terrorism is the least of their worries.

Is it time for more introspection or revenge? Anger is great and I hope it is garnered to something useful such as improving the machinery and brain behind preventing such attacks.

Having said that, the media and its personnel are mostly talking about Pakistan, terror etc. Not once has any one tried to understand the mess behind this. Our knee jerk reaction is these maniacs are inhuman but that is not how we will prevent future ones. Understand this one better may help the future ones from not happening.

The analysis kinds of sums it up for me. Angry I am & shall remain until I get answer to my simple yet a very fundamental questions: Why are things the way they? and How can I contribute to tidy up this mess?

We should also send messages to Pakistan's President, Prime Minister and Home Minister about catch the Terrorist sponsors and punish them. Get the intelligence from India and ACT NOW!!! Clean up the mess that they have there. Can some one in Pak file a PIL asking their Judicial system to issue a directive to ACT on these terrorists sponsors?

I saw your interview by chance on CNN-IBN immediately after the terrorist attack, for the first time. After that I tried to search your site/blog and here I am. I can say that my thoughts and anger were exactly echoed by your words and your rage. I wanted to thank you for expressing on behalf of all people like me who are unable to express it in public platforms and are away from their country. But have identical views. I live in UK and we have been daily discussing this among our colleagues. In fact I felt strongly against the words like keeping calm and being resilient quite some time back. I failed to understand what politicians wanted to convey by saying these words that it is ok to be attacked by terrorists and we can't do anything. By bcoming resilient we should wait for the next attack and life will go on. The systemic failure, government apathy, callous attitude, impotent leadership and our cowardness to take on the terrorists in their backyard was very well articulated by you. I feel the pain for an attack on any part of India and for every loss of life. I was continously seeing the news such that I had to call my parents very early morning in Pune (it was night here) and they were unaware of the attack as it happened late night. For the first time in four years I have seen such a coverage of any news on BBC specially on an event outside UK. The world is with us but our politicians are cowards and we are at the mercy of either US or at terrorist.

Just one last thing I would like to say what ever steps our government takes we will not win this war until we eliminate the camps in Pakistan either by overt or covert operations or by united international action. They will find some way to breach the security. Its a national shame that we know that criminals like Dawood are in Pakistan and still we are going ahead with peace and other bullshit with Pakistan without keeping a firm demand that we won't move an inch until you handover these terrorists. Like CIA and SAS we should also look at possibility of eliminating such people using covert operations.

This is high time all the journalists, influential actors like Ambitabh come together and form a sensible mass movement and come to common ground to track how effectively government is preparing well to handle the terrorism or how it can handle other crisis like situations ( eg. Tsunami , floods in Assam and Bihar ). If influential people like you can form much stronger movement and have people of India follow you, it will be more effective than just criticizing the government. Maybe time will come when you need to be in politics to cleanup this mess.

I am also keen on understanding how this experience is going to force Mumbai residents and Maharashtra's people in realizing the importance of their vote and in holding elected officials responsible for their actions. It is very unfortunate that people do not have the means to report incidents like the one that ocurred last week to an agency that is well equipped can respond in a strong manner to such an attempt to undermine our integrity. It seems that the government of Maharashtra ignored all calls to beef up maritime security and in fact somebody from the government said that there is no money available to waste on maintenance of speed boats and other monitoring devices. India is responsible for her own security. The government of Manmohan Singh and the State government are merely refusing to accept responsibility by blaming Pakistan and doing all the other theatrics that they do like calling the diplomat, firing the home minister etc. All these yield only political gains for these bureaucrats. The citizens of the country have to look beyond these theatrics and demand that tangible actions be instituted. We need to measure the politicians' performance and complain if they do not do their job. We need an independent security evaluation of our cities and states and institute world class security infrastructure. Commandos should be at the scene in half an hour not 9 hours after the incident. It is a joke that these commandos were being back and forth from airports using land transportation. This shows the degree of complacency in the system.

I feel sorry for the indian political class, they lack the intellect to graduate over night to understand the people they claim to represent. The people of India have finally spoken and the politicians as a section do not understand this language of unity. Caste and reservation, religion and terror, poverty and subsidy, region and jobs, sex and sops, rich and hatred, poor and exploited the rhetoric satisfies no more. It is life in a war and dignity in peace and politicians need a course in understanding. Modi's compensation, Adwani's assurances, Achutanandan's visits, Deshmukh's terror tour with family and friends, Patil's small incidents, Mukthar Abbas Naqui's ladies with lip stick and powder comment, Jayanthi Natragan's discourse on resilience, Singvi's condemnation of statements of fellow party-men, prime minister's assurances of action and so on just prove one thing they do not know what to say. I must admit my admiration for Mr. Mani Shankar Ayier for doing the most sensible thing, keeping quite, it helps to listen and pays to understand. I think all the politicians should go on a sabbatical to get a crash course in listening, cognation and body language skills.

Where the Pakistan Defense Analyst Talks about the Indians - He says Tamil,Sikh, Muslim and involved with Hindus to create a chaos against them. The exact phrases(Tamil,Sikh, Muslim - geere hoove hai!). While Kashmiris still think Pakistan is their on their side. Looks they are wolves waiting for it. He is asking for that, And India should give that Paksitan.Sathyanarayanan

What exactly a politician do there?How many bills Jayanthi Natarajan has passed? We'll grill her in this campaign!!! She just has been benefiting as the grand daughter of ex-Tamil Nadu CM Late Shri M Bakthavatsalam !!! Loyal Chamcha!!!

Where is that joker Raj Thackery who claims monopoly on Mumbai? May be he is hiding in the house sipping beer and watching tamasha on T.vA Patil or two quitting is no big deal. The politicians have proved themselves to be worse than terrorists. Quitting posts owning moral responsibility is a drama. They must be made accountable and should answer for their callousness, indifference and total failure. What did the Govt. do when they had the Intel about possibility of terrorists infiltering through the sea coast? What were the steps taken to strengthen the security in the wake of these reports? The C.M. had the audacity to take a film director to the site as though it was a picnic. He was accompanied by his son and Ram Gopal Varma.Perhaps the trio wanted to have first hand feel of post-terrorist-devastation scenario as the son is making his foray into Bollywood. All indicators are pointing towards Pak. I fail to understand why Manmohan Singh was seeking the support of ISI who happens to be the main suspect in this gory carnage. Even a school kid will tell that ISI is hostile to India and our PMs asking it to send their chief so that he can identify the co-conspirators?Sadly there is no crisis management body and nobody knows who is coordinating the whole thing. There is delay in the arrival of NSGs from Delhi since a special flight was not available. If only there were to be a centralized agency, a special flight could have been set up immediately. The fact that American CIA officials who came here to help were held up at Mumbai Airport for a whole day speaks volumes about the sad situation and lack of speed on the part of the Govt. The PMO could have directly intervened and sorted out the matter. What could have been more important than this in this hour? Perhaps the govt. was too busy in political fire-fighting exercise, gunning a Patil or a Vilasrao.

First of all, no politician deserves to be given any personal security which has become more of a status symbol. It is so nauseating to see every political jerk lording over, surrounded by gunmen, paid for by our taxes. While entering politics they must accept risk as a professional hazard and die if the need be. A person who cannot freely mingle with the people and constantly fears for his life is no leader at all. We would rather lose 10 good-for-nothing politicians to an upright police constable. It’s good that one terrorist is caught alive. What happens now? After the interrogation the case will be handed over to a court and our judicial system will take years, nay, decades. The lawyers who shamelessly come forward to defend these terrorists deserve to be shot at forthwith. The human rights activists will jump into the fray shouting about the rights of terrorists, Dignity of life, amenities in prison for them and all that crap.

Let the govt. tighten the belt and give 100% attention to the security issue and beef up the measures. Even 99% is not good enough. We should have special acts, special courts and special agency and maybe special ministry to combat this menace of terrorism. Let us give up our pseudo secularism and be true to ourselves. We must mobilize international support and rope in other countries; seek their expertise to annihilate terrorism. My heart goes out for those who laid down their lives for others and those innocents who lost their lives.

I remember a comment made aboard Air India 1 by the head of the government, that there are many leaders within his party who are better than himself and capable of being prime ministers, now the question really should be we the people of India not ask for the best? or is it because we do not deserve the best?Think.....

Hi Everybody, wanted to share this email with all of you: This might just be one of the things we need to do :

Did you know that there is a system in our Constitution, as per the 1969act, in section "49 O" that a person can go to the polling booth,confirm his identity, get his finger marked and convey the presiding electionofficer that he doesn't want to vote anyone!

Yes such a feature is available, but obviously these seemingly notoriousleaders have never disclosed it. This is called Section"49 O".

Why should you go and say "I VOTE NOBODY"...

because, in a ward, if a candidate wins, say by 123 votes, and that particular wardhas received 49 "O" votes more than 123, then that polling will be cancelled and will haveto be re polled. Not only that, but the candidature of the contestants will be removed and they cannot contest the re polling, since people had alreadyexpressed their decision on them.

This would bring fear into parties and hence look for genuine candidates for their parties for election. This would change the way; of our whole political system...

It is seemingly surprising why the election commission has not revealed such a featureto the public....

Please spread this news to as many as you know...Seems to be a wonderfulweapon against corrupt parties in India... show your power, expressingyour desire not to vote for anybody, is even more powerful than voting... sodon't miss your chance.

So either vote, or vote not to vote (vote 49 O) and pass this info on...

Remember most of our bollywood films like "Chake De" which shows spiritof national integration get huge collections at box office because we stillbelieve as INDIAN...

But how come we can always hear of a terrorist attack??

A big Question to ask on our political system?Who is doing this?

"Please forward this mail to as many as possible, so that we, the peopleof India, can really use this power to save our nation".

PLEASE GO THROUGH THE NEXT FEW PAGES. THIS MAY HELP US IN BRINGNING ABOUT A NEW INDIA. ARE YOU NOT SICK OF THESE INNEFFICIENT POLITICIANS?? AND THE SYSTEM AS A WHOLE

ITS TIME TO STOP BLAMING THE SYSTEM…. JUST CRUSH THE SYSTEM ITSELF… NOW.. WE HAVE HAD TOO MUCH OF THIS…..

YES YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFRENCE

1. The present system of political system- The so called ‘Democracy’ , as seen form the last 60 yrs of its existence has been a great failure. From the idea mooted of being a ‘by the people, for the people and to the people’ it has turned out to be a “by the people for the politicians” system of democracy. Not much has to be told to explain to you the utter failure of the present system and the almost irreparable damage it has caused to us as a nation.

2. Probably for a country like India whose diversity, social structure, cultural richness, economic growth etc. can never be drawn parallel to any country in this world, we need a different kind of system to exist and take us through.

3. One such system could be what I would like to call the “ABSOLUTE DEMOCRACY”

4. Before progressing with my ideas I would like to mention to you that I have a rather very bleak idea of political systems existing in the world including Democracy, Communist ideals, Dictatorship etc. However my ideas are probably a result of very simple logical reasons and their probable solutions as per my ability. There may exist better solutions and ideas which could possibly better this concept.

5. Certain flaws in the present system:a. Ministers who handle various ministries have absolutely no idea of the office they are handling except for a very few of them. Their knowledge of the subject is zero and hence their utility to the nation remains in just penning signatures (if they are literate enough) and appearing for inaugurations etc.b. Ministers often are involved in political campaigning of their own parties for various elections (assembly/ state/ and even municipal). All this at the cost of various high level committees which are left out waiting just for their presence in the GoM. c. Appointment of a minister itself is a joke wherein the leaders of political parties who have provided (read as sold) maximum no of seats are allotted key ministries to keep them happy and to make them feel that they are part of the government too!d. Even the prime minister becomes the puppet under the system irrespective of the fact whether he wants to do something or not.e. The huge amount of money spent by the political parties for the elections is a national waste. Firstly where does this huge huge amount of money come from? See the pamphlets , flags , rallies , gifts etc. This is surely our own money! f. The process of trading seats to obtain a majority ! so where is the democracy there? Did we the citizens want that to happen?g. Every political party has its own “agenda” if they come to power. Where does that go after they come to power?6. Also the President of India is just a ceremonial appointment. ‘Rubber stamp’ as we all call the post. Is it really so worthless or powerless an appointment which only addresses the nation on important occasions or welcomes foreign dignitaries.

7. Is it not a shame to hear our very own President and Prime minister reading out monotonously from the text (written by their secretaries) scrolling on a TV screen kept beside the camera even after 200 people are killed by terrorists? Are they so inefficient?

ABSOLUTE DEMOCRACY

8. This system may replace the existing system of political parties. Actually the necessity to have a political party was probably to set a certain goal and all the members of that party striving to achieve that one set goal. Yes we do have one such goal in all our political parties- To retain / come to power and to make the most of it as long and as fast as possible.

9. SCRAP THE SYSTEM OF POLITICAL PARTIES. We can do with individual members elected in the existing way who do not represent any particular party.

10. Persons who wish to participate in the election will get themselves registered with the election commission. They must be literate enough and must possibly be a person who has certain ideas for improvement of his constituency.

11. The person be provided a particular amount of money (very nominal depending on the population of the constituency) for propaganda. No pamphlets, no flags, no rallies. He can go from home to home and educate the citizens of his ideas. All the contestants be allowed to address the citizens at certain central places depending on the population and the size of the constituencies under the official arrangements of the election commission . Each contestant be allowed to address the public for a fixed period time one after the other. No grand arrangements required . Just a public address system. And probably a few chairs for the aged to sit down and listen. No topics related to religion, caste, region, POLITICAL PARTY and other instigating topics be allowed to be spoken. Anybody who speaks them be disqualified and return back the amount given by election commission and be criminally charged and put to jail.

12. After the election, contestants failing to obtain a prescribed minimum % of votes to return back part of money given to them by the election commission.

13. In the meanwhile the election commission is to prepare a list of eminent personalities who can take over the duties of PM, cabinet ministers. The list may have a fixed number of names say 5 or 10. The ministers are to be people who are completely aware of their particular ministries. For example the finance minister be an eminent economist, the home minister a retired IPS officer, the defence minister an ex- serviceman, the foreign minister an ex- IFS officer and so on. Also the ministries be already fixed as per requirement of the nation.

14. After the election process is over. All the newly elected members of the parliament be addressed by these list of personalities and the nation at the parliament house for a fixed period of time about their vision for, say 30 min each for the PM, finance, home, defence ministers etc and a slightly reduced time for other minor ministries.

15. After this, all the members of the house be allowed to cast their votes in the house using electronic voting machines for each of the ministers. Thereafter the ministers selected be allowed to vote in for the prime minister of their choice.

16. At each level i.e, the contestant who comes second be made his deputy. And in case of ministers be made the minister of state for that particular ministry. And similarly the post of Dy PM by the person coming second.

17. The ministers and PM need not be a member of the parliament.

18. At any time in case the elected member if found to be inefficient, that particular constituency be allowed to vote for the removal of the person. A minimum period of 1 year to be given to the elected member before this process can begin. Similar process for other ministers and the PM wherein members of parliament vote them out for being inefficient. In all cases the person next in the line (on basis of number of votes secured initially) to take over the position and the person next in line to become his deputy. No need for separate election. This system may also be used in case of natural death of the elected member/ minister. Else election be conducted again. IN CASE THE MEMBER RAKES UP ISSUES REALTED TO RELIGION/ CASTE/ REGIONALISM/POLITICAL PARTY ETC, HE BE REMOVED FROM HIS OFFICE AND CRIMINAL ACTION TAKEN AGAINST HIM.

19. The whole system to function for a period of 5 years. A member once elected not to be allowed to contest for a period of 5 years again. A maximum of 2 tenures as the member of parliament, 2 more tenures as a minister/ Minister of State and 2 more tenures as PM/ Dy PM only be allowed to prevent stagnation. Incase the person is very efficient in handling that post he may be later selected as an advisor if required.

20. Fixed working periods in the year similar to the present system. Rest of the time the MP’s to be present at their constituency. An office be provided at the constituency. MP to carry out his work from the office. Fixed period for tours of his constituency.

21. Fixed working hours in a day within which the PM / Ministers / MPs will not be allowed to do unofficial work like inaugurations, award ceremonies etc.

22. Salary to be given to each of the MPs , ministers and PM which are commensurate with their posts. A strict check to be maintained to check their wealth and income.

23. Incase the MP / minister / PM being a salaried employee before the elections, provision to be created to exempt the period of office in the Parliament and after the completion of tenure reinstate back him/ her minimum at the same designation at which the member left the office. Also the same to be authorized for the duration of election campaign to other members who fail to become the MP/ deputy MP etc. Also suitable compensation be provided if the person was from the unsalaried class/ business man/ woman.

24. With this I come to the end of my idea of ‘Absolute Democracy’ . This can obviously be improved upon by eminent people with better understanding of political field, administration, law and management.

25. Certain opposition that this system may draw will be on account of the following.This will only involve probably a majority of the educated class. Hence the rural side will be left out. SOLUTION : Don’t worry the educated class realize the importance of rural India. Also members may be from the rural class. Who is stopping them? No money / politics is involved. So anybody can stand for the elections and win if suitable. EVEN YOU!

26. Will this derail the present system of administration as a whole? No it only modifies the way our representatives are elected. No change is being made to the system as such. Hence the relationship between the judiciary, bureaucracy and the democratic setup remains intact . it would be just free of dirty politics.

27. If none of these seem logical, atleast the fact that last 60 yrs have made hardly any good for the nation seems a viable logic. We can atleast try something new.

So fellow citizens lets join hands and try to make a difference. Let us all start a movement to get this moving. Assembly elections are nearing. We may save valuable money if we act fast.ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN:

1. FILE A PETETION IN THE SUPREME COURT IMMEDIATELY TO STAY THE COMING ASSEMBLY ELECTION FOR ABOUT 3-4 MONTHS TILL THIS NEW SYSTEM CAN BE FORMULATED. APPROVAL OF SUPREME COURT BE AVAILED AND LAWS MODIFIED TO SUPPORT IMPLEMEMNTATION OF THE SYSTEM AND TO PUNISH THE DEFAULTERS.

2. A NATION WIDE MOVEMENT TO MAKE THE COUNTRY ESPECIALLY THE RURAL POPULATION AWARE OF THIS NEW IDEA.

3. NO NEED FOR A POLITICAL COUP / TAKE OVER. THIS SYSTEM WILL JUST REPLACE THE NEXT GOVERNMENT LEGALLY ( ONCE THE LAWS ARE AMMENDED SUITABLY).

4. MEDIA TO PLAY A VERY MAJOR ROLE IN CREATING AWARENESS AND CREATE A MOVEMENT IN THE NATION SUPPORTING THE ‘ABSOLUTE DEMOCRACY’ . BUT ALL MOVEMEMENTS MUST BE PEACEFUL.

5. INVOLVEMENT OF THE EDUCATED AND ELITE CLASS, LAW MAKERS, RETIRED BUERAUCRATS, INDUSTRIALISTS, MANAGEMENT GURUS TO SIT DOWN AND FINE TUNE THIS SYSTEM TO BE IMPLEMENTED. FOR THIS A GROUP BE FORMED WITH PERMISSION OF THE SUPREME COURT / PRESIDENT.

6. GRADUALLY THIS SYSTEM TO TAKE OVER IN ALL STATES.

7. A PERIOD OF 10 YEARS TO EXPERIMENT WITH THIS SYSTEM. IF IT FAILS THEN WE CAN FALL BACK TO THE EXISTING SYSTEM..

WHY NOT GIVE THIS A TRY???

CERTAIN URGENT REFORMS REQUIRED (SOME FOOD FOR THOUGHT)

1. ALL POLITICAL GROUPS BE COMPLETELY ABOLISHED. NO SYSTEM OF ELECTIONS IN COLLEGES/ UNIVERSITIES AND TRADE UNIOUNS AND THE LIKES OF IT BASED ON POLITICAL GROUPS (LIKE NSUI / ABVP / INTUC etc) . IS IT REQUIRED??

2. ACADEMIC SYLLABUS ALL OVER THE NATION TO HAVE CHAPTERS RELATED TO THE NATION, SOCIAL REFORMS, SACRIFICES OF FREEDOM FIGHTERS , THE ARMED FORCES, HERIOC DEEDS OF THE NATION’S SECURITY FORCES (INCLUDING POLICE) . EXAMS TO BE CONDUCTED ON THIS SUBJECT EVEN AT POST GRADUATE LEVELS. IF NOT SOON OUR YOUNGER GENERATION WILL NOT BE AWARE OF THE SACRIFICES AND THE DAY WILL NOT BE FAR WHEN THERE WILL BE NO PEOPLE JOINING ARMED FORCES , POLICE AND OTHER FORCES. THEN WHO WILL GUARD YOU??

3. COMPULSORY ENROLLMENT INTO EITHER NCC OR NSS FOR STUDENTS UPTO GRADUATION. MINIMUM 2 YEARS OF SOCIAL SERVICE IN RURAL AREAS / TERRITORIAL ARMY/ PARAMILITARY FORCES/ POLICE / EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE( FOR MEDICAL STUDENTS) AFTER COMPLETION OF GRADUATION. GOVT TO TAKE CARE OF ALL NECESSITIES AND GIVE STIPEND DURING THE ABOVE PERIOD. PEOPLE JOINING ARMED FORCES / PARAMILITARY FORCES/ POLICE / IAS / OTHER GOVERNMENT JOBS BE EXEMPTED FROM THIS.

4. A SPECIAL SOCIAL SERVICE ORGANISATION BE STARTED TO ORGANISE THIS LARGE SCALE MOVEMENT TO SERVE ALL QUARTERS LIKE RURAL AREAS/ SLUMS/ ILLITERATE PEOPLE/ POOR/ OLD AGED PEOPLE/ CHILDREN/ EMERGENCY SERVICES / ANTI-CORRUPTION FORCE ETC

5. IT IS WE WHO CAN DO SOMETHING. DON’T JUST KEEP FORWARDING MAILS. IT HELPS IN DOING NOTHING.

6. REMOVE ALL RESERVATIONS BASED ON CASTE ,CREED AND RELIGION. ACTUALLY WE HAVE CAUSED A RIFT IN THE NATION BY THIS POLICY OF RESERVATION RATHER THAN MAKING IT SECULAR. RESERVATIONS TO BE BASED ONLY ON ECONOMIC CONDITIONS OF THE POPULATION.

Ma'm,I respect your views.Just 1 question-What if the whole incident,in the same pattern would have occured in a poor sector of mumbai,say zopadpatti area or chawl area,& 200people from that area lose their lives would the rage be of same magnitude?Would the media still be so serious in telecasting the views?would the ministers resign then?Would there be USA FBI and scotland yard in our city to study the attacks?Is this all because mostly elite/upper middle class/rich people have lost their live that we are all so enraged?Is that the reason that only taj and oberoi were given much coverage and not the CST casualties?Is there a class-divide among those affected by terror also?Not only the ploticians but v as citizens and also the media Hypocrites?14 policeman died in this mission but only the pictures and names of the 3 top officers r reflected everywhere,why?I wonder if there is a divide in heaven as well depending on your income.

That actions speak louder than words is a truism, sadly lost in translation on most of us today. I am of the view actions need not be heroic for every little goes a long way :You can act by :a) Donating bloodb) Learning a martial art form for self protectionc) Travel in India moreto keep our hospitality business buoyant.d) Read books by Muslim and Middle Eastern authors who allow us a little bit of the way into the lives of people like us living in places like Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Sudan, Somalia, the Lebanon etc.It is all very well pointing a finger at Pakistan but at the end of the day what do we do with our very own home bred black sheep? It takes two to tango - it is ludicrous to imagine the entire operation could be orchestrated from overseas without so much as a helping hand from a local sympathizer.Even candle light vigils have a place. No point rubbishing them point blank. To cut a ruefully long story short, just do something anything (even borderline) productive / creative to help get on with picking up the pieces as best we can.

LMAO... either it is pathetic sense of humor or you are worried about your plan to stalk someone...

NOPE... we are going behind Jayanthi Natarajan's MP Seat...

I have family members in Mumbai and so do my six friends; I do have a classmate there; A friend's classmate was shot to death while returning from work in Nariman Point.

Shobhaa De voiced for all of us; Her voice echoed all of us, exactly how we felt; She could be a celebrity today but she came from middle-class family like many of us having a peaceful life, like I did, playing basket ball, hanging out with friends, etc.,

A three time MP, instead of analyzing the situation and responding RESPONSIBLY, took an immature stand to prove her point!!! So far, an apology from the MP for such a kiddish remark in a national TV network was NOT received.

Even, the Congress party did NOT discipline the three time MP!!!

There are 140 followers here for Shobhaa De's blog. If we can convince her to take the challenge, she can form an exploratory team to explore her options; We don't want to go and lose; We want to make sure that JAYANTHI kind of MPs no longer represent people in Democracy!! Simple...

This is all talk, no one will act; 48 hours we already forgot this incident; There is common man and there is educated one like us. If we don't reach out to the common man and educate them; the Govt, no matter whom you elect, will be providing same REACTIVE BAND-AID Solutions; we need, PROACTIVE SURGERY!!!

We still need volunteers:http://shobhaadeagainstjayanthinatarajan.blogspot.com/

Or let us give it up; Don't blame on someone for not doing anything!!! It has to start First from Us or shame on us, god forbid, when you hear something like this happen again...

Major. Sandeep Unnikrishnan a proud and patriotic NSG commando who lost his life is what we know the cream of our country. Every attack we lose such great men. And we see them in media for sometime but once we win a cricket match we tend to forget all this. Our country has a history of forgetting things pretty easily and those who remember are subdued with no mercy. Thackeray's Manoos were not there to help our country during distress. Our country is and was united always, unless the politicians stir the ire for their mileage. Things to be done : They are quite a few, i mean a lot. First it starts from the awareness among the public. Security is not a government issue, its my issue and so is yours too. Now hundreds of reporters come up with news that this fisherman saw the boat, that shop keeper saw the fruit truck. You must remember mumbai is under attack every year still 'aam jantha' is careless or ignorant. Beefen up the security is a key word every media and opposition party accuse, but thats common sense after an attack. My sick braincells can generate an idea like that. But how? u mean more police without jackets or gun, more martyrs for our country. No..absolutely no. Each and every one of us must be ready to acknowledge the impending red alert, a number you can dial in, an sms, a mail. Everything should be available for information to flow. Now that our government system fails us..we must take this issue in our own hands. Do you think the two youngsters who took AK-47 from there satchels were not afraid at all until they started firing?? What if some policemen had asked him to open the bag well before? What if the aam jantha like us had seen and informed a security person near by?? Security is all about training...training our brain to keep our eyes open and not the number of securities in the yard.

Actually when jayanti natrajan got hysterical when the sacred cow of congress ie ma'am sonia was mentioned and said that she had lost her husband and mil to terror, shobha should have retorted that since then sonia ma'am has fortifed herself and got Z+++++ security for herself and next infinite generations of her family whereas those who have lost relatives to terror attacks have got nothing but a few rupees in compensation

The congress party and its allies in the UPA claim to be SECULAR but in the very first address to the nation, Manmohan Singh said that the perpetrators would be punished whatever their religion. now where does religion come into the picture? even in a time like this THE GOOD DOCTOR can only think of his votebank

POLITICIANS ARE A REFLECTION OF THE SAME TYPE OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE:1) ELECTED THEM2) REFUSED TO INQUIRE AND ENFORCE RESPONSIBILITY WHEN SOMETHING GOES WRONG

DONT BLAME POLITICIANS IF YOU CANNOT PICK UP THE SPADE AND DO SOME VOLUNTARY WORK YOURSELF. OUR MEDIA IS A HUGE FAILURE AS THEY ARE BUSY MALIGNING POLITICIANS OR SOMEONE ELSE. THERE ARE NO SHADES OF GREY IN OUR CONSCIENCE. A PERSON IS EITHER GOOD OR BAD. ALL PATRIOTIC PEOPLE ARE DUBBED RIGHT WING EXTREMISTS. ANY GOOD WORK DONE BY A HINDU ACTIVIST WILL BE DEEMED USELESS AND POLITICALLY MOTIVATED BECAUSE HE IS A HINDU ACTIVIST. THIS IS ALSO BECAUSE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE BUSY MALIGNING OTHERS HAVE NO PRACTICAL, FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE OF VOLUNTARY WORK AND HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT TAKES TO SERVE OTHERS. ALL OUR PASSION IS USELESS IF WE DO NOT CONVERT THIS INTO ACTIONS. THIS IS ALL A KIND OF MENTAL MAST*******N. BEEN THERE DONE THAT. GET ORGANIZED AND START HOLDING POLITICIANS RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR FAILURES. WHY DID THE STATE DEFENCE MECHANISM FAIL DESPITE INTELLIGENCE INPUTS OF MARITIME ATTACKS FROM INDIAN AND AMERICAN SECURITY AGENCIES? WHO DROPPED THE BALL? YOU, THE PEOPLE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR NOT HOLDING THE OFFICIALS ACCOUNTABLE. ACCOUNTABILITY HAS TO BE CONSTANT, NOT AFTER THE INCIDENCE. AGAIN, DONT BLAME POLITICIANS WITHOUT TAKING THE BLAME FOR NOT DOING ANYTHING FOR THE COUNTRY YOURSELF.

BY THE WAY, I AM ENGAGED IN FUNDRAISING FOR THE VICTIMS OF TERROR AND INSURGENCY - SO I AM PRACTICING WHAT I AM PREACHING HERE.

Both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers. If India goes to war with Pakistan - then firstly it is going to be devastating for the already bad economy in India.. Pakistan doesn't have an economy so they won't even care. Secondly India is a more "responsible" country and wont use Nukes first against Pak - however Pakistan can and will use nuclear bombs over Major Indian Cities - the effects of which are even scary to think about. It is estimated that 12 million people will die in an Indo-Pak nuclear war initially and the after-affects could destroy as many as 1 billion lives in both countries.. Any kind of military attack over Pakistan by India now can escalate into a Nuclear war - so really it is not worth it over 200 dead people in a terrorist attack that a war claiming hundreds of millions of lives is justified.

India simply needs to beef up its intelligence and learn how to secure its own borders rather than blaming things on Pakistan.

SHOBHA and all the bloggers here, we should start a campaign demanding a detailed government response on what they are going to do in response to the terrorist attacks. No veiled references to what they want to do. We want clear communication. Hold these imbeciles responsible. Shedding a few tears, firing a few babus and rebuking Pakistan will NOT do the job. Tell us how you, the government will take responsibility (and I DON'T mean resigning) and attack terrorists where they are based out of. Show us how you are not cowards and how you politicians are not maligning the bravery of the Indian Armed Forces?

A Public Interest Litigation should be filed against the stateand central governments for having failed to protect the public.Such a suit should seek answers from the government about whatthey are going to do to attack the terrorists in their place oforigin.

Riaz stop building castles in the air. Shobha isnt interested a drop in politics... she just likes to write, rant, yell, screach and yawn about it. Why are you on her case so much? She probably despises people like you cringing for her to join politics!

Get a life man, or you get yourself educated with a political degree and then try entering politics yourself. Theres a lot of hardwork to do. Simply siting on your chair and writing at ends about how sucky our politicians are wont help. They have worked hard to get where they are... what about you? What about me? What about the common man? We dont even bother! Shame on us, not on them.

Shobhaa-ji, you make some wonderful points in this blog. And I'm glad that it is being widely read and receiving such a high number of comments.

I listened to NPR (North Carolina Public Radio) here in the States. And an interesting analogy was made by the report commenting on India's tendency to remain exposed to incidents such as the terrible tragedy in Mumbai. India recovers quickly after such incidents, he said. Although one may predict that such an incident would cause Hindu-Muslim riots or create extreme political unrest, our desh often displays an admirable resiliency after such incidents. However, with so much resiliency comes a tendency to forget past wounds. The commentator said that we return to such "calm waters" that we fail to see any approaching storms.

Having lived through a few storms in my lifetime - the 9/11 attacks, Mumbai's train accidents of 2006, and this recent jawdropping horrow - I feel as if I am living in a dream. I blink a few times and shake my head each time I think of what I have witnessed in my short lifetime of 21 years. Let us hope that the reminders and calls for change from outlets such as yours will create a better tomorrow. I do not want my children to witness an event like this. I want them to see the world as a peaceful place where all life is perceived as blessed. This utopia seems far too idealistic, but I hope that we can all reach for it. And try to get as close as we can.

Shobha staying angry never will take us anywhere nor by being indifferent .We just need to start a movement to get people together for a change .I think a lot of us educated so called well bred individuals have either been escapists or totally indifferent to the harsh realities of this land .Our attitude what can we do to heal this land when we see the poverty on our face , the stark economic difference between people is simply blame it on the politicians , or better still it's destiny ! I am finding this movement amoungst people very encouraging .The issue now is accountability we need to arm twist these politicians and make sure the money that is being entrusted in their hands for our safety , our services is being directed for the same .And it is us the educated lot who can do it and we need people like you who in management terms already have a brand name established to take the cause further we cant expect the common man on the street to get involved he has no time to get into this . every moment is a struggle for survival for them .no daily wage - simply means no food at the end of the day .I think it is our Karma to make their destiny better and to get the politicians to behave like public service providers not like rulers .take careregardsRJK

I am overwhelmed.... this is much, much bigger than all of us, we are too close to it at present.... we must pool in all our resources - mental, emotional, intellectual, to find solutions that make sense.... and comfort those who need comfort, galvanise the others who can bring about the changes society seeks. I have received countless calls and emails from across the world, expressing solidarity and concern. It is very kind of strangers to take the trouble. College teachers, students, ex-army generals.... I have heard their voices. And they are saying exactly the same thing - if India has to protect itself from future attacks, it needs to address the source. Tackle the root. Destroy the terrorist camps, wherever those are located. Is India prepared to act??

Here is an account of one of the survivors.Heroes At The TajMichael Pollack 12.01.08, 7:40 PM ETMy story begins innocuously, with a dinner reservation in a world-class hotel. It ends 12 hours later after the Indian army freed us.My point is not to sensationalize events. It is to express my gratitude and pay tribute to the staff of the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, who sacrificed their lives so that we could survive. They, along with the Indian army, are the true heroes that emerged from this tragedy.My wife, Anjali, and I were married in the Taj's Crystal Ballroom. Her parents were married there, too, and so were Shiv and Reshma, the couple with whom we had dinner plans. In fact, my wife and Reshma, both Bombay girls, grew up hanging out and partying the night away there and at the Oberoi Hotel, another terrorist target.The four of us arrived at the Taj around 9:30 p.m. for dinner at the Golden Dragon, one of the better Chinese restaurants in Mumbai. We were a little early, and our table wasn't ready. So we walked next door to the Harbor Bar and had barely begun to enjoy our beers when the host told us our table was ready. We decided to stay and finish our drinks.Thirty seconds later, we heard what sounded like a heavy tray smashing to the ground. This was followed by 20 or 30 similar sounds and then absolute silence. We crouched behind a table just feet away from what we now knew were gunmen. Terrorists had stormed the lobby and were firing indiscriminately.We tried to break the glass window in front of us with a chair, but it wouldn't budge. The Harbour Bar's hostess, who had remained at her post, motioned to us that it was safe to make a run for the stairwell. She mentioned, in passing, that there was a dead body right outside in the corridor. We believe this courageous woman was murdered after we ran away.(We later learned that minutes after we climbed the stairs, terrorists came into the Harbour Bar, shot everyone who was there and executed those next door at the Golden Dragon. The staff there was equally brave, locking their patrons into a basement wine cellar to protect them. But the terrorists managed to break through and lob in grenades that killed everyone in the basement.)We took refuge in the small office of the kitchen of another restaurant, Wasabi, on the second floor. Its chef and staff served the four of us food and drink and even apologized for the inconvenience we were suffering.Through text messaging, e-mail on BlackBerrys and a small TV in the office, we realized the full extent of the terrorist attack on Mumbai. We figured we were in a secure place for the moment. There was also no way out.At around 11:30 p.m., the kitchen went silent. We took a massive wooden table and pushed it up against the door, turned off all the lights and hid. All of the kitchen workers remained outside; not one staff member had run.The terrorists repeatedly slammed against our door. We heard them ask the chef in Hindi if anyone was inside the office. He responded calmly: "No one is in there. It's empty." That is the second time the Taj staff saved our lives.After about 20 minutes, other staff members escorted us down a corridor to an area called The Chambers, a members-only area of the hotel. There were about 250 people in six rooms. Inside, the staff was serving sandwiches and alcohol. People were nervous, but cautiously optimistic. We were told The Chambers was the safest place we could be because the army was now guarding its two entrances and the streets were still dangerous. There had been attacks at a major railway station and a hospital.But then, a member of parliament phoned into a live newscast and let the world know that hundreds of people--including CEOs, foreigners and members of parliament--were "secure and safe in The Chambers together." Adding to the escalating tension and chaos was the fact that, via text and cellphone, we knew that the dome of the Taj was on fire and that it could move downward.At around 2 a.m., the staff attempted an evacuation. We all lined up to head down a dark fire escape exit. But after five minutes, grenade blasts and automatic weapon fire pierced the air. A mad stampede ensued to get out of the stairwell and take cover back inside The Chambers.After that near-miss, my wife and I decided we should hide in different rooms. While we hoped to be together at the end, our primary obligation was to our children. We wanted to keep one parent alive. Because I am American and my wife is Indian, and news reports said the terrorists were targeting U.S. and U.K. nationals, I believed I would further endanger her life if we were together in a hostage situation.So when we ran back to The Chambers I hid in a toilet stall with a floor-to-ceiling door and my wife stayed with our friends, who fled to a large room across the hall.For the next seven hours, I lay in the fetal position, keeping in touch with Anjali via BlackBerry. I was joined in the stall by Joe, a Nigerian national with a U.S. green card. I managed to get in touch with the FBI, and several agents gave me status updates throughout the night.I cannot even begin to explain the level of adrenaline running through my system at this point. It was this hyper-aware state where every sound, every smell, every piece of information was ultra-acute, analyzed and processed so that we could make the best decisions and maximize the odds of survival.Was the fire above us life-threatening? What floor was it on? Were the commandos near us, or were they terrorists? Why is it so quiet? Did the commandos survive? If the terrorists come into the bathroom and to the door, when they fire in, how can I make my body as small as possible? If Joe gets killed before me in this situation, how can I throw his body on mine to barricade the door? If the Indian commandos liberate the rest in the other room, how will they know where I am? Do the terrorists have suicide vests? Will the roof stand? How can I make sure the FBI knows where Anjali and I are? When is it safe to stand up and attempt to urinate?Meanwhile, Anjali and the others were across the corridor in a mass of people lying on the floor and clinging to each other. People barely moved for seven hours, and for the last three hours they felt it was too unsafe to even text. While I was tucked behind a couple walls of marble and granite in my toilet stall, she was feet from bullets flying back and forth. After our failed evacuation, most of the people in the fire escape stairwell and many staff members who attempted to protect the guests were shot and killed.The 10 minutes around 2:30 a.m. were the most frightening. Rather than the back-and-forth of gunfire, we just heard single, punctuated shots. We later learned that the terrorists went along a different corridor of The Chambers, room by room, and systematically executed everyone: women, elderly, Muslims, Hindus, foreigners. A group huddled next to Anjali was devout Bori Muslims who would have been slaughtered just like everyone else, had the terrorists gone into their room. Everyone was in deep prayer and most, Anjali included, had accepted that their lives were likely over. It was terrorism in its purest form. No one was spared.The next five hours were filled with the sounds of an intense grenade/gun battle between the Indian commandos and the terrorists. It was fought in darkness; each side was trying to outflank the other.By the time dawn broke, the commandos had successfully secured our corridor. A young commando led out the people packed into Anjali's room. When one woman asked whether it was safe to leave, the commando replied: "Don't worry, you have nothing to fear. The first bullets have to go through me."The corridor was laced with broken glass and bullet casings. Every table was turned over or destroyed. The ceilings and walls were littered with hundreds of bullet holes. Blood stains were everywhere, though, fortunately, there were no dead bodies to be seen.A few minutes after Anjali had vacated, Joe and I peeked out of our stall. We saw multiple commandos and smiled widely. I had lost my right shoe while sprinting to the toilet so I grabbed a sheet from the floor, wrapped it around my foot and proceeded to walk over the debris to the hotel lobby.Anjali and I embraced for the first time in seven hours in the Taj's ground floor entrance. I didn't know whether she was dead or injured because we hadn't been able to text for the past three hours.I wanted to take a picture of us on my BlackBerry, but Anjali wanted us to get out of there before doing anything.She was right--our ordeal wasn't completely over. A large bus pulled up in front of the Taj to collect us and, just about as it was fully loaded, gunfire erupted again. The terrorists were still alive and firing automatic weapons at the bus. Anjali was the last to get on the bus, and she eventually escaped in our friend's car. I ducked under some concrete barriers for cover and wound up the subject of photos that were later splashed across the media. Shortly thereafter, an ambulance came and drove a few of us to safety. An hour later, Anjali and I were again reunited at her parents' home. Our Thanksgiving had just gained a lot more meaning.Some may say our survival was due to random luck, others might credit divine intervention. But 72 hours removed from these events, I can assure you only one thing: Far fewer people would have survived if it weren't for the extreme selflessness shown by the Taj staff, who organized us, catered to us and then, in the end, literally died for us.They complemented the extreme bravery and courage of the Indian commandos, who, in a pitch-black setting and unfamiliar, tightly packed terrain, valiantly held the terrorists at bay.It is also amazing that, out of our entire group, not one person screamed or panicked. There was an eerie but quiet calm that pervaded--one more thing that got us all out alive. Even people in adjacent rooms, who were being executed, kept silent.It is much easier to destroy than to build, yet somehow humanity has managed to build far more than it has ever destroyed. Likewise, in a period of crisis, it is much easier to find faults and failings rather than to celebrate the good deeds. It is now time to commemorate our heroes.Michael Pollack is a general partner of Glenhill Capital, a firm he co-founded in 2001.

There are those who want to see the captured terrorist hanged in a public square. Soon. There are others wondering why the terrorists were wearing red threads round their wrists?? What is your reponse to both questions? Should we turn Bombay into Baghdad? Firing squads and public hangings are so not Mumbai.

Any decision/wish by the people, for the people is taken by our elected representatives. If it takes Mumbai to become Baghdad for the matter of fact to make them get absolute power I am sure they are planning to do just that.Even the honourable Judges are conned into accepting and dismissing petitions which suits the peple in Power include Beaurecrats and Lawyers(political affiliation) and MEDIA.

Vinod Agarwal - lets get POWER first TERROR or NATIONAL pride be damned.

Who the hell is sonia gandhi....She's running the country with no accountability, all the cabinet Ministers and PM are following orders passed by her & written by her Cotorie...Thanks for our Media & Congress Party, who never ask what's she doing ??? Her son & herself goes out every day and try to take credit for their family for every little things they are doing, but when it comes to accountability, it's responsibility of MMS, Shivraj Patil whatever whatever, what an equation

Dear Shobha Madam,public hanging or meting out severe punishment in public is an anathema to our indian culture. we can not blindly follow the rules of Arab nations. ours is an highly evolved culture and tradition. there are already constituionally accepted judiciary and other agencies to deal with the criminals. but what we require is a political will, which is utterly lacking in present day politicians. the politicians always think in terms of votes that is the greatest tragedy afflicting this otherwise a great nation. the iron hand policies like Isrel are the need of the hour.and the red thread that the terrorists were wearing was just a ploy to misguide and mislead the police authorities and securities and the indian public, so that the terrorists will be understood to be from Hindu community. and to escalate the communal clashes and aggravate the instability and insecurity in the nation. wel this must be their nefarious design.

The last post was on December 8th, which means Mumbai is no longer angry. However, I intend to keep the anger of Mumbai going till such time as two things are done.

The first is a surgical strike on terrorist training camps in Pakistan.

The second is getting to the bottom of who set up Hemant Karkare to get killed by the terrorists. This has to be relentlessly pursued to honor the memories of those who laid down their lives that other Indians might live.

A truly motivational and life changing bookThis book is really a good book which shows us right path. but i readone more book named "ONE BOOK FOR LIFE SUCCESS" which is trulymotivational and life changing . .The writer has described in Plain English with lot of examples which is easy to understand...For MorePlease watch the videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biORjS8ngv0